Promotion Rules

Texas Motor Speedway

Week of January 13, 2014

Jan 14, 2014

Richard Childress Racing dominated the headlines of the Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway over the weekend, posting the top three laps in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series test on Friday. Rookie Austin Dillon, already in the spotlight for being the first driver since the death of Dale Earnhardt to drive the historic No. 3 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, turned in the top lap speed of 195.109 mph. He was followed by RCR teammates Brian Scott in the No. 33 Chevrolet at 194.582 mph and Matt Crafton, subbing for Paul Menard in the No. 27 Chevrolet, at 194.342 mph. The test was originally scheduled over two days, but a rainout Thursday packed all the action into an eight-hour session on Friday. This test also provided drivers that switched teams during the off-season a chance to get familiar with their new rides. Kurt Busch, now piloting the No. 41 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, was seventh fastest with a lap of 193.249 mph. Kevin Harvick, another new addition to the SHR stable, was 12th at 192.988 mph. Ryan Newman, who moved from SHR to RCR after the 2013 season, finished 17th with a top lap of 192.448 in the No 31 Chevrolet. …With all the changes coming to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, team co-owner Tony Stewart turned down an offer from SHR VP of Competition Greg Zipadelli to serve as Stewart’s crew chief for the upcoming season. Zipadelli told the Associated Press that Stewart declined the offer, instead wanting Zipadelli to remain in his current role of managing all four of the team’s Sprint Cup Series cars. Stewart and Zipadelli won 33 races and two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships as a driver/crew chief combination for more than a decade. Chad Johnston, who previously handled the pit box for Martin Truex Jr., will be Stewart’s third crew chief in the last four seasons. …After missing the last 15 races of the 2013 season due to injuries sustained in a sprint car race Aug. 5, Stewart is gearing up to make his return at the Daytona 500 next month. “I feel pretty good," Stewart said Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. "I still have a little ways to go, but we've got four weeks to get ready the rest of the way. Even when we get here in February, it's not going to be 100 percent. Physically I'm not going to feel 100 percent, but I'll be able to do my job 100 percent so that's the main thing. I don't mind it taking a little longer for the physical side to heal as long as I can drive a race car when I need to when I get back.” Stewart, a three-time Sprint Cup Series champion, is still recovering from three surgeries to repair a broken right tibia and fibula from that accident. … Rookie Chase Elliott is wasting no time getting up to speed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. On Saturday, his first day of practice with his new No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, the 18-year-old posted the fastest lap of the day at 187.993 mph and guess who was second fastest? None other than NASCAR great who also happens to be Chase’s father, Bill Elliott. He was subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 5 Chevrolet and turned a lap of 187.974 mph. The fact that the two finished 1-2 on Saturday’s speed chart capped off an exhilarating day for the Elliotts that started with Chase and Bill cranking up their cars in adjoining garage stalls and continued with them testing side by side at Daytona International Speedway. "It's really cool," Chase told NASCAR.com about being on the track with his legendary father. "Obviously just for him to be my dad, but at the same time he's got a lot of knowledge that can be very helpful to me, and can be helpful when we come back here in a few weeks, too.”…Much of the overwhelming popularity that the Gen-6 car had in its initial season in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series had to do with the design of the car and how it resembled the street model. During the off-season, the Camping World Truck Series revamped its body style to look more like the consumer pickup trucks. Toyota showed off its 2014 Tundra in September, but the public got its first look at the Chevrolet Silverado and Ford F-150 at Monday’s test session at Daytona International Speedway. “It's the first change we've had in quite some time to the Camping World Truck Series,” NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said. "The development and everything went as smooth as could be expected throughout the summer, kind of went under the radar we had so many other things going on that people really didn't know we were working on it. But the manufacturers worked very hard, just like they have in the last two vehicles that we've brought online with the product relevance and the trucks look really nice, look a lot closer to what they're selling.”